DerSpiegel: Weimar's Duchess Anna Amalia Library Re-Opens

From: J Flenner <varney@[redacted]>

Subject: DerSpiegel: Weimar's Duchess Anna Amalia Library Re-Opens

Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:56:46 -0400

[NOTE: When I started reading this, I thought Der Spiegel was repeating
an earlier story it had published. But it's not quite identical to "The
Books Are Back: Weimar's Anna Amalia Library To Re-Open" (10/04/2007),
which is linked at the bottom of this story. jf]
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http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,512782,00.html
October 22, 2007 | Der Spiegel
PHOENIX FROM THE FLAMES
Weimar's Duchess Anna Amalia Library Re-Opens
By Malte Herwig
Three years after a massive fire destroyed much of the Duchess Anna
Amalia Library in Weimar, the Rococo gem is set to re-open its doors
this Wednesday. The fire at the library, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
has given Germany fresh impetus to preserve its cultural heritage.
The burnt-out ruins made a harrowing impression on eye-witnesses. Only
the charred outer walls had survived the "gnawing rage of the flames,"
wrote Romantic poet Christoph Martin Wieland -- they were now
reminiscent of "Troy laid to waste." Even Goethe shuddered at the sight
of the "horrific ruins" -- all that remained of Weimar Castle after the
fire of 1774.
But it could have been worse: The castle's famous book collection was
spared. Duchess Anna Amalia (1739-1807) had ordered it to be moved to
the refurbished Green Castle only a few years before. And the famous
library named after her is still located there today. Thousands of
precious books remained unscathed for more than two centuries -- only to
be destroyed by a huge fire on Sept. 2, 2004. The books had been
scheduled to be moved to a new depot only a few weeks later.
(snip)
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